Wednesday, 15 September 2010

Another waiting room

I've already talked about waiting around for something to happen but as a carer you also spend a lot of time in waiting rooms. For instance right now I'm at the psychiatry unit where my son has a weekly appointment with his psychologist. It's an hour appointment at a place about 25 minutes drive away so there's nothing to do but wait. There are some magazines around but I'm not a 'Hello' kind of guy so normally I just sit here reading a book.

But it's another part of being a carer that is so boring. I mean no one would choose to be stuck in a waiting room once a week for an hour, would they? Of course it's not just one appointment a week, as there are other appointments from time to time (like with his psychiatrist) where more waiting is involved. He also goes to a session once a week at a training centre where he's doing a course. Well, when I say once a week he finds that very difficult so often has to miss appointments but again I have to wait. Now this one isn't so bad as it's only 5 minutes away but I have to wait around with him until the session starts, and also make sure I'm there comfortably before it finishes because he has to be able to rely on me being there when he finishes.

Then there is the actual transport side. I've mentioned his social phobias so a bus is out of the question, as is the randomness of a taxi, leaving the only option for me to drive. Seems simple enough, but I haven't actually got a car at the moment. It rather died last winter and I had to get rid of it – funnily enough it is now a banger racing car – so I have to borrow cars. It isn't too hard for me to find a car to borrow but it often involves giving the owner a lift to where ever they are going which can be a bit of a pain. And picking them up again, of course. More waiting.